Cycling UK Forum

Can anyone help?

I want to do the Danube trail starting in Donaueschingen but don't know the best way to get there as we will have all our gear bikes and camping stuff.

We were thinking of flying into Zurich but we would need to be able to find our way to the start of the trial pretty quick due to time restraints.

Any help would be appreciated

What about European Bike Express to Basel and then cycling to Donaueschingen using the signed cycleroutes, or else local trains from Basel?

I've done it by plane to Stuttgart and then rented a car one-way to Villingen-Schwenningen. By rail it was not direct and a problem as there were 5 of us. But this was 10 years ago and the rail routing may have changed.

I second the bike express option having used this to gain access to the Black Forest and part of the Danube trail.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your suggestions.

Does anyone know how far it is from Basel to Donaueschingen if we decide to bike it? We only have a limited time to do the whole trip in, which is a shame as I would much rather by on my bike than sat at my desk

Also does anyone know where I could get some maps from if we decide this is the way?

Thanks again

It looks like about 100km by recommended roads but it may be possible to find a train running from Basel as far east as Neuhausen or Schaffhausen which would leave about 20km to ride. Otherwise a train north to Freiburg would leave about 40km for cycling. All the cycling is fairly hilly unless you stick to valley routes. The ADFC - Radtourenkarte maps are best for this area. The CTC used to stock the maps but they can most likely be found online. Try this site http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/germany.shtml

I would also recommend 'The Danube Cycle Way' guide by Cicerone. This suggests the best way to get to Donaueschingen as EBE to Basel and then train: apparently from Badischer Bahnhof station in Basel with only one change at Singen, the train journey to D is only a few hours, and much less expensive on Sat or Sunday. Do also be aware that all shops are closed from 12:30 Sat to Mon morning! Only bars and guest houses will provide food over the weekend!

I cycled down the Neckar & Rhine last year, catching trains from the Hook of Holland to Villingen which is only 13 km from Donauschingen. Trains to Villingen were no problem and seem to be frequent. If time is important, as Hamster said, fly to Stuttgart; the train from there to Villingen is only about an hour and a half.

Pete

Hi,

just come back from doing this, I used Eurostar London-Paris, then the Night train from Paris to Stuttgart (~10pm) followed by a local train to Donaueschingen (arr 10am). Return from Budapest was Budapest 0710, Vienna 11:44, Salzburg 15:18, Munich 20:53 (night train), Paris 09:15, London. All except the "international bicycle ticket" were booked using the excellent Deutsche Bahn (UK) travel service, all was very easy but reservations are essential from Budapest and best obtained before travel - the railway station is very busy and they do not speak much English although German is spoken.

If you want any more details just ask, I camped for 3 weeks and used the bikeline guides.

Hi Ratty,

Thank you so much for this info. I would like to cycle Passau - Vienna with Mr Yoyo. I did it with Miss Yoyo using a company and hired bikes but now I would like to have my own bike and organize where I stay myself. What is the 'international bicycle ticket'? What was the cost of all the train travel - less Vienna - Budapest?
Yoyo

Hi Ratty,

Thanks for the information on transport, we were thinking of flying into Basel airport and getting the train from there but I think we will look at getting the Eurostar as an alternative as it might be easier going from train to train and not airport to train.

I would be interesting in how you got on camping, we usually camp when we go to Holland but I have been told that there are less camp sites available in Germany. If you have any information on camp sites - good ones/bad ones - if they get booked up etc and if we would need to book in advance (i don't like doing this as it restricts how far you have to go each day) we would really appreciate it.

Did you do the whole trip in three weeks?

cheers

Yes, I did the whole route in 3 weeks, 50 miles a day and 3 days off. Would have been easy except for the 600 miles against the wind!

Trains:

Eurostar, £29.50 each way (cheapest), had to book a return. Bike booked onto same train and collected from Sernam at Paris. Costs £5 at St Pancras for bike wrapping if required. Train arrives at Paris Nord, Night train leaves from Paris Est. Leave station at the end opposite Eurostar/Sernam and it is a 10 min walk/5 min roll down hill. Shortest route has steps.
Night train, I paid 49 Euro each way including a couchette berth. Cheapest (seated) is 29 Euro each way. Long term Spar Night offer from DB. Cycle 15 Euro. Reservation required. You get to load it onto the carriage where it spends the night. Seemed to be 8 spaces.
Stuttgart to Donaueschingen, local trains, 24.70 Euro, cycle 4.50, change at Rottweil (stairs!). If travelling at the weekend a single area ticket can be purchased for up to 5 people which works out much cheaper.
Return, Budapest to Vienna, 34.20. Vienna to Munich (change required at Salzburg) 70.90 Euro. The cheapest route back from Budapest is to catch the Budapest-Munich night train which is from 29 Euro with the same offer/prices as for Paris-Munich. Then hang around in Munich for the day.
The “international bicycle ticket” costs 14 euro and covers all of the above trains on the one day across international borders.
Reservation is essential from Budapest and it helps to do it in advance as the train station in Budapest is very busy and language can be a problem. I bought all tickets and reservations from Deutsche Bahn (UK) and the “international bicycle ticket” at Vienna (simply got missed out when I did the booking beforehand). The staff at Vienna were very concerned that I might be attempting to get back without having reserved.

Campsites:
in general the campsites were not of the highest quality. Often attached to Inns/beer gardens and with little in the way of facilities apart from toilets/showers and water. Electricity often available. Didn't seem to be that many campsites in Germany or Hungary. Showers generally did not have a dry area for dressing and were sometimes “open-plan”. Cost for 1 person, 1 bike and 1 tent was usually from 8-11 Euro/night, charged by tent and adult and tax, so cheaper pp for more than 1 person (bah!). Minimum 5 E, max 12 Euro. Acccording to the Austrian tourist board booking is required in July and August but several of the sites I stayed at do not have internet booking and finding contact details for them proved tricky.

Details:
Where I stayed:
Hausen-in Tal. Organised, gas/milk/sweets available. Inn very close, good food, nice beer. Bakery opposite for bread and cakes. No other shopping facilities. No internet site. This section seemed a little short of cafe opportunities.
Munderkingen campsite consisted of long grass, decrepit toilets, appeared abandoned, what appeared to be a travellers camp opposite and just a phone number on the gate...so moved on to Rottenacker (there were some good sized hills on this section, especially the one just outside of zwiefeltendorf at the sharp right hand bend – I got off and pushed with extreme difficulty!), stayed at a “bio” farm on the outskirts, 1 toilet, 1 shower, no other facilities, bio farm shop goods only. No cooked food, no supermarket, no bread. There is a campsite in the town itself. (also a campsite at Reidheim).
Gunzberg campsite at Naturfreundhaus. (mileage in Cicerone guide is wrong here if you follow the Blaubeuron alternative, it is quite a bit longer, but very pleasant detour).Nice grass, attached to the “superior youth hostel” which served food. No shop but supermarket about a mile away. Difficult to find and up hill – they have put maps in a little box at the foot of the information board on the entrance to the town (or if you are in town the tourist information office is very good), basically turn right at the big polizei and follow the signs. The bridge is being rebuilt over the river here, and is closed to traffic but a wooden bridge has been erected for cyclists and walkers! Midges.
Marxheim, gh Sonne. Campsite attached to guest house, supposedly space for 40, but they were maybe not fully open as the tents were put on the strip of grass next to the carpark. Mostly used as a dog toilet. Shower/toilet were in the stables with the horses. No pan washing facilities. Cheap. Opportunity to hire an “oldtimer” tractor to explore the local area. Nice local beer and decent food. Rooms/bed spaces available.
Did the detour recommended in the Cicerone Guide to the Altmuhl, the link across is now a fully marked cycle trail (off the road) mostly follows farm tracks, forest trails and an old railway track. Surface is limestone chippings/packed earth. The Altmuhl trail itself was mostly good tarmac surface, but very busy especially in the towns and close by. There is no campsite at Rennertshofen. Stayed at Beilngreis 4* campsite, the only one with marked pitches for little tents, all facilities including a washing machine – cost was 7euro for a wash and dry! Followed the Altmuhl back to the Danube at Kelheim where lockable cycle facilities are available if you want to to do the boat trip through the Donau breakthrough (I thought it was worth it) or you can take the bike on the boat – they line them up each leaning on the next 20 or more deep along the middle of the boat....
on to Regensdorf (limestone chippings again!) Cycle path incredibly busy here with walkers, cyclists and roller bladers – faster cyclists should use the road! Regensdorf campsite, 12 Euro/night, campinggaz, milk and some food, organised. Eateries close by, but nothing on site. Cycle path from here seemed to bypass all opportunities to buy food! Deggendorf campsite at a beer garden – tent pitched on the lawn of a long term caravan (“they are away”) , food at the inn, no shop. New railway being built next door, work starts at 7am. Town close by with all facilities.
Route through Austria was busy on the right and quiet on the left to start with – snakes and lizards on the path. Campsite at Obernzell at an Inn, very good food, excellent views from the tent onto the river. No shop. Quiet and peaceful Long sections on the left side seem to be bereft of eating opportunities.
Route into Linz is along the side of the busy main road, uphill and mostly unpleasant/dull cycling on a (safe) pavement with lots of others. Worth avoiding – there is a local 2 carriage train runs regularly. Linz Campsite is attached to the restaurant at the local swimming lake. Beer very expensive. No shop/gas/milk. (intersport in Linz sell the screw top gas containers), good cycle shop nearby.
Melk campsite is at an Inn/beer garden. Nice food, popular. Boatloads of tourists pass by from the Danube tour ships onto coaches to visit the Stift, which is a 15 min walk away. Route to here is exposed. The cycle path on the right bank from here has been greatly extended through the Wachau and is good easy cycling – the workmen were still building further on and the path became quite rough, but they let you cycle on the (still smoking) asphalt. Agsdorf (sp) castle ruin looks well worth a visit but I chickened out of the 3 x 20% climbs on the hill to get there! Campsite at Grein, no washing machine, didnt stay. Campsite at Tuln, very pleasant, close to local swimming lakes. Supermarket 1 mile (map at campsite reception). Minorite church worth a visit – ceilings nearly as good as Melk Stift. Boat/stage on the river does the cheapest coffee/cake I found in Austria. Take care on the exit from Vienna, taking the low road instead of the high road at the Pizza restaurant leads into the local naturist area and the only way back up to the path is to carry the bike up some stairs. Swimming in Danube.
The campsite at Petronell Carnuntum is attached to an indoor tennis hall. Limited hot food available, supermarket nearby. Route here has been altered and now avoids all of the Roman Ruins – don't bother with it, the road is quiet and about half the length! The motorway runs quite close to the campsite. Route no longer signed. Bratislava bridge – go up the tower to the restaurant and the out onto the top for excellent views, not obviously open to the public but it is. Nice wide cycle path leads out of the city, sometimes it is a dual carriageway – one for the rollerbladers one for the cyclists but beware of the random lorries running along it. The cafe halfway along is very popular, the rest don't seem to be as good (lots of flies). The one at the end didn't do food but there is a very nice Inn in Cunovo. Road surface rough. Potholes. Campsite at Lipot had an excess of mosquitoes, stayed at a nearby “Panza”, 19 Euro, including breakfast, good food. Clean shower! Traffic through Gyor interesting, follow the red pavement to find the way out. Turn left at the big car factory on the outskirts onto bumpy cycle paths. Route finding a bit challenging through the small villages but signs saying “bony, bonyrat.. babolna,” written by locals in many styles and colours actually point the way. The road into Acs is fine, look out for the piles of dead chickens/turkeys at the poultry farms. A small green sign on the outskirts points the way out along “the road from hell” it is used by local motorbike scramblers and consists of several miles of rolling mud lumps, and is overhung and narrow in places (I met a couple of cyclists who had abandoned it and were seeking alternative routes.)
Campsite at Komaron – there are 3 - the one closest to the baths has the least grass, the others are attached to hotels, all are next door to each other. The road out is extremely busy, big lorries and trailers etc. the alternative route through Slovakia is quiet and pleasant (the tourist office in Komarno has cheap internet access and is friendly and helpful).
Esztergom “camping and bungalows” should offer earplugs with every booking. Coach loads of “children” (aged 12-16 I suppose) arrive each day and play in the swimming pool and football until 1am and again from 5am, but it could be just that I fell asleep. The Basilica has 260 steps to the top and is best visited early as the stairs are narrow and the walkway more so.
The route into Budapest is ok, but care is needed as part of it seems to have been moved, mostly follow the yellow line but a couple of signs point out what I think was the new route to places that weren't on my map so I ignored them, which was mostly ok.

Enjoy

R.

Ratty,

Thank you for all your trouble writing in such amazing detail. I doubt I shall ask Mr. Yoyo to camp on the Danube - we have been spoilt by Swiss campsites. All your travelling details are excellent and I will look into booking something for us using guesthouses. In Austria these are clean with acceptable food, but Germanic food does not compare well to that found in Latin countries.

Hi Ratty,

Thanks for all the information, having all this detail about the camp sites will be really useful especially knowing which ones to avoid!! I think we might skip one or two and have a couple of nights off in B&Bs or Hotels.

Do you know any web sites with e-mail address/phone numbers for campsites/accomodation? We aren't sure when exactly when we will be able to go - somewhere between mid July and end of September, so if we July or August I think we might try to book some up in advance.

Thanks again for all the info - you are a real start

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